Fans were hoping for some new images or video from the Rover -- possibly even news of a new discovery. Instead they were treated to a brief pre-rendered animation, followed by a word art "text" from the Rover commenting "Happy New Year From Mars".

The Verge, whose offices are based in Manhattan, New York, described the build-up and delivery as "groan worthy". One commenter hints that maybe budget cuts were to blame, commenting, "I think we should double NASA's budget, purely for the reason that they can then go and license decent typefaces."